Thursday, April 27, 2017

There is a civil war brewing within the Methodist Church over whether or not Karen Oliveto’s unanimous July election by the Western Jurisdiction to bishop will be sustained or overturned — and with the decision comes the potential to split the denomination. Karen Oliveto is the church’s first openly gay bishop.

The Methodist Church’s General Conference is comprised of 1,000 delegates — half clergy and half non-clergy members. The General Conference, which officially speaks for the church as a whole and sets policy, has upheld language dating back to 1972, which defines same-sex relationships as “incompatible with Christian teaching.”